Gourgeist(パンプジン) is the 64th Pokémon in the Kalos Mountain Pokédex. It is a Ghost/Grass-Type, and is known as the Pumpkin Pokémon.

Gourgeist can use one of two Abilities: Pickup, which gives it a 10% chance of finding an item to hold onto after battle, but it can also collect an item that was used by either ally or opponent during the battle; or Frisk, which reveals the opponent's Hold Item if the opponent has one. Gourgeist's Hidden Ability is Insomnia, an Ability that gives it an immunity to the Sleep Status Condition.

Biology

Physiology

Gourgeist takes on the appearance of a living jack-o-lantern of a brown coloration, including a carved-in face on the pumpkin portion of its body. From the top of the pumpkin is the spirit's body, taking on a lighter-orange appearance with a small face at its top, consisting of small, yellow eyes and a small mouth.

The hair that grows down the sides of Gourgeist's head constitute its arms.

Gender Differences

Gourgeist doesn't have any visible differences to differentiate between male and female.

Form Differences

Gourgeist can take on one of four sizes: Small, Average, Large and Super Size. This leads to differences in how its Base Statistics are distributed in three different categories.

Game Information

Original Games

Gourgeist cannot be found in the wild in Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. The only way to obtain one is to evolve a Pumpkaboo.

Spin-Off Games

Gourgeist has yet to appear in a Spin-Off Game as of writing.

Trading Card Game

No Trading Card Game Information as of yet; will be updated once featured in an upcoming TCG Set.

Anime/Manga Information

Anime

Gourgeist has yet to appear in the Anime as of writing.

Movies

Gourgeist has yet to appear in any of the films as of writing.

Manga

Gourgeist has yet to appear in the Manga as of writing.

Pokémon Information

Competitive Battling

All Gourgeist forms reside in the PU tier of competitive battling, but due to each of the forms having different stats, they are tiered separately and have varying degrees of viability based on those stats. This section will list the Gourgeist forms in order of most viable to least viable in the PU tier and any tiers above it.

Super Size Gourgeist (also known as Gourgeist-XL) is the most viable of the Gourgeist forms. With the highest HP stat of the four forms, Gourgeist-XL is the sturdiest defensive presence among the four forms. Its typing and movepool allows for it to check certain offensive threats like Golem. Due to being a Ghost-type, it can act as a spinblocker to prevent Rapid Spin users from getting rid of entry hazards, and it also has access to semi-reliable recovery in Synthesis and moves like Will-O-Wisp and Foul Play that can prove very useful utility wise. However, Gourgeist-XL faces competition from other Grass-types like Tangela and Quilladin, and it is weak to common attacking types like Dark, Ice, and Fire, although its typing gives it a unique advantage over the two that allows for it to stand out as a defensive stalwart.

Gourgeist-XL is also viable in the Neverused (NU) and Rarelyused (RU) tiers of competitive battling. Its niche in those tiers is very similar to its niche in PU as a physically defensive Pokémon. In NU, Gourgeist-XL can check the likes of Rhydon and Swords DanceSamurott while acting as an annoyance to opposing physical attackers thanks to Will-O-Wisp, Foul Play, and Synthesis. However, it suffers from having several common weaknesses, lacking the Special Attack to take advantage of a superior special movepool, and having its recovery nerfed in the presence of Snow Warning users like Abomasnow and Aurorus. In RU, Gourgeist-XL is a great bulky spinblocker that can check Pokémon like Medicham, Flygon, Virizion, and Hitmonlee. It has a nice matchup against the most common Rapid Spin user in Blastoise and has relatively reliable recovery in Synthesis. Unfortunately, it has common weaknesses to Fire, Dark, and Ice, which leaves it vulnerable to threats like Sneasel, Mega Glalie, and Houndoom. It also has mediocre Special Defense which can lead to it being broken down by strong special attackers like Choice SpecsMeloetta and Life OrbVenusaur.

Small Gourgeist (or Gourgeist-S) is notable for having a very good Speed stat for a defensive Pokémon. In PU, Gourgeist-S's high Speed allows for it to outspeed certain physical threats like Basculin, Fraxure, and Stoutland. A good overall utility movepool consisting of Leech Seed and Will-O-Wisp to go along with a great defensive typing makes Gourgeist-S an overall well-rounded defensive Pokémon. It can wear down at foes with the Substitute + Leech Seed combination while being able to Disable to prevent opposing Pokémon from breaking its Substitutes too easily. However, Gourgeist-S suffers from having trouble with Grass-types and Fire-types like Jumpluff and Ninetales.

Gourgeist-S is also viable in the Neverused (NU) tier. In NU, Gourgeist-S has the ability to wall certain threats like Kabutops, Rhydon, and Torterra. It can burn fast offensive threats that would be threatening towards its Super Size form like Shiftry, Pinsir, and Kangaskhan. It can play the role of spinblocker thanks to its Ghost typing and its nice Speed stat that puts it ahead of many relevant spinners, while its Speed stat and wide support movepool makes it an annoying Pokémon that can run the SubSeed set very well. Unfortunately for Gourgeist-S, it has many common weaknesses including a weakness to Dark, which can be problematic due to a prevalence in Knock Off users. Gourgeist-S also relies heavily on support moves like Will-O-Wisp and Leech Seed to dish out damage and can be shut down by Taunt or Magic Bounce users like Archeops and Xatu, respectively.

Average Gourgeist and Large Gourgeist fall in the category of being completely overshadowed by its Small and Super-Size forms. Gourgeist's best niche in PU without being outclassed is being able to Trick opposing Pokémon with a Choice Scarf while using Destiny Bond to take out an unsuspecting revenge killer. Gourgeist-L is completely outclassed by Gourgeist-XL due to the latter's superior stat distribution.